The Oculus Rift may look like a relatively simple device but it’s actually a pretty amazing piece of kit packing a wealth of cutting-edge tech. The hugely exciting virtual reality headset includes a whole bunch of amazing hardware designed to create a sense of complete immersion in a three-dimensional world. When you realise what’s in…

If you are looking for a headset with support for listening to audio while on the go, the M50 is a great device. One of the biggest challenges I had was locating one that had a high enough volume and the M50 was a perfect pair. It offers 11 hours of talk time and up to 384 hours standby, I keep one in my bag and charge it weekly. It also supports two separate devices, 2 phones, phone and computer or tablet so you can use it to support various configurations. Price is only $28.

Using AirPlay Mirroring for iPad 2nd and 3rd generation and Mountain Lion

Wow your audience in the conference room, classroom, or living room. AirPlay supports video mirroring. Which means you can wirelessly — and securely — stream whatever’s on your iPad 2, 3 or on you Mountain Lion Mac to your HDTV via Apple TV. Everyone in the room sees exactly what’s on your display up there on the big screen.

Connecting a Mac for Mirroring or Extended Desktops

If you are using a newer Mac, purchased in the past 18 months, chances are you have what it takes (processor wise) to take advantage of mirroring via AppleTV as well. This is great, because its wireless and allows you instantly share whatever’s on your mac desktop. Whether you’re working with a team to design, working together on a presentation or just want to share something the family its easy to turn on or off and take advantage of this great feature. If you have a older Mac checkout AirParrot which will work with Lion or Snow Leopard and older macs.

You can also use your mac in extended display so you can move content and windows between your built-in screen and the big TV. Works great for wireframing, presentations and design. We replaced our conference room projector last year with a 46″ LED TV and added the Apple TV and couldn’t be happier. You can also get a direct cable connection from your laptop to the TV if you want to just take advantage of the extra screen and skip the extra peripheral.

Size

The AppleTv is a small device that easily sits next to your TV and for $99, it will extend your capabilities. You can also locate it on sale, during the year for as low as $89 via third party resellers.

Bonus: If you have a Netflix account you can easily stream content or rentals or programs you have purchased via the iTunes.

Connections: Couldn’t be Easier

Just plug in the power cord and hdmi cable to your tv and your up and running. After it boots up, select a wireless router and your set.

Wow, had the opportunity to test drive the SSD, solid-state drive, in the MacBook Pro as well as in a Air and it’s amazing! I was skeptical that the speed would increase for launching a app or opening documents but the difference is 2-3x faster with typical applications from Office, Keynote, Filemaker, Photoshop, Captivate, Flash and After Effects. Running my setup from a 750gb hard drive, launching apps, exporting content, compressing videos all were timed to 50-70% faster using the 512mb SSD drive. Boot times, from a off state were also noticeably difference with the SSD booting almost twice as fast. I would highly recommend investing or planning a upgrade on your current laptop to decrease waiting and increase productivity. Learn more about SSD’s at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solid-state_drive

Life of George includes both a building game mode with single and 2 player mode, as well as creation mode where you design and capture your own models. In the building game you receive challenges on your iPhone/iPod Touch that you build with real LEGO bricks. In the 2 player mode you can challenge a friend and compete on 5 different models to see who builds the fastest. There are various difficulty levels determined by the models and the time setting you choose (easy or hard).

Expecting one from Santa, will report after I, I mean the little one gets to play with it.

This is a great portable projector screen, Epson ES1000 Ultra Portable Tabletop Projector Screen, that collapses so that it’s easy to carry and take with you to your next stop. Super handy if you are heading to a meeting and if you are not sure if the conference room will have a screen this is the perfect device to help you project smoothly. Pricing runs typically around $99.

My local Apple VAR, G2 Computers (http:www.go2g2.com) demonstrated the new Sonos S5 wireless speaker and I was amazed with the iPad interface and integration with the iTunes library as well as internet radio. The speaker connects to your wireless network with a ZoneBridge and offers a iPad, iPhone, touch or computer app that allows you to stream music and control the volume remotely. It was a hit this holiday weekend and made it easy to add improved sound in the house while entertaining family and friends. I added one speaker and the ZoneBridge which connects the speaker with the network. The speaker has a volume and mute button on top so if you don’t have quick access to your iOS device you can quickly tweak the sound. They even offer their own controller if you are don’t have any iOS devices yet.

Posts navigation

Things that interest me and may help you in design, technology, learning, and business. I'm a partner at sealworks.com an interactive studio blending design and technology to create great interactive tools and applications.

We have a great product to help you manage and collaborate on tasks, projects and with teams. Get started with a free account today. launchcycle.com.